A review by hippolyta_vi
Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth

4.5

Alexene, if you're reading this, What did I do to deserve that? Seriously, are you in my walls? Am I the character inspo for Viola? Never have I related to a character more :') 

I really enjoyed this book. It started out slow, but the intro was quite literally about football and that's not really my jam. Once the story got nerdier I was HOOKED. All the nerdy fandom aspects of this were perfect and so intriguing. The video game sounded awesome. And the twist at the end? SHIVERS. I was so invested in the TV show. Where can I res Vi's fix-it fic? And Vi's ttrpg sounded SO fun! Where can I play it? 

My only, only qualm was with how the drama with Antonia was handled.

I thought the author was going to subvert the tradition of the childhood female best friends making up after a big fight that happens in like every piece of media about highschoolers. Of course I love seeing healthy female friendships but don't we all go through friend breakups? I have not once ever seen a friend breakup portrayed and this could've been IT! Maybe it's because I had a friend like Antonia who I no longer speak to, but just because you give so much of yourself to someone and you have memories with them, does not mean they earn your undying loyalty. What Antonia did SUCKED! And I didn't like that she had to suffer to realize that she'd been a bad friend. And in my eyes, Vi wasn't in the wrong at all. She was being overlooked and insulted and her best friend couldn't come to her defense? I would've been so okay if they had a fight that ended in a semi-amicable split.

But what I hope for shouldn't colour how I feel about the book overall, which is positive! 

This book was everything I wanted in high school, and everything I needed in adulthood.